Ringmahon Rangers banned and fined by FAI after giving controversial cup walkover
Ringmahon Rangers have been hit with a heavy fine and ban.
Ringmahon Rangers have been banned from the FAI Intermediate Cup for the next three years after failing to play Bohemians in the Club Orange Men’s FAI Senior Cup.
This is just one sanction issued by the FAI after a disciplinary hearing, with the club also facing a €5,000 fine and a five-year ban from the Club Orange Men’s FAI Senior Cup.
The governing body for football in Ireland confirmed the decision in a statement released on Thursday afternoon.
“Following a disciplinary hearing into Ringmahon Rangers AFC’s failure to fulfil their fixture against Bohemian FC in the second round of the Club Orange Men’s FAI Senior Cup, an Independent Disciplinary Committee has imposed the following sanctions on Ringmahon Rangers AFC,” the statement said, before listing the sanctions.
“The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) would like to remind all clubs of their obligations to fulfil fixtures in accordance with FAI Disciplinary Regulations and competition rules,” the statement added.
“The FAI is committed to protecting the integrity of its competitions and ensuring that all fixtures are respected in the interests of participating clubs, players, officials, match officials, supporters and the wider football community.
“In accordance with the FAI Disciplinary Regulations, this decision may be appealed.”
The fixture between Ringmahon Rangers and Bohemians has been a national talking point, with the Cork club citing the lack of a suitable venue for the match, which was scheduled for July 19.
There were also concerns about a potential clash with a Cork hurling match, as the All-Ireland final was due to throw in at 3.30pm on the same day.
Those discussions took place before the Rebels' defeat to Galway in the All-Ireland semi-finals last weekend.
Read More
Ringmahon Rangers said in a statement: “Given the logistical challenges, player availability issues and the difficulty of staging the match around 30 minutes from our home venue on an already congested sporting weekend, we felt we had no viable option but to withdraw from the competition.”
The club later poked fun at the situation after Cork’s defeat to Galway, by asking for a friendly on the same afternoon as the All-Ireland final on social media.
The FAI have come down hard on Ringmahon Rangers in response, especially with the ban from the Intermediate Cup as the Munster Senior League side have never won that trophy.
Their quest to win the trophy has intensified in recent years as they got nearer and nearer to the final, beginning with a defeat to Letterkenny Rovers in the 2016 semi-finals. They finally made it to the decider in 2024 and lost to Glebe North, on the same day that Cork lost to Clare in the Munster Championship.
They got to the final against last year and lost to College Corinthians and their 2026 adventure ended with a defeat to Malahide United in the round of 16.
App?
